Never a Clean Break
by your rolling wheels
Summary: Actions have consequences, and part of growing up is learning to accept that. It’s a lesson even Tim Riggins has to learn to cope with, especially when a one night stand leads to much more serious outcomes. Read & rate, please! Tim Riggins/OC.
1. INTRODUCTION

**TITLE: **Never A Clean Break

**PAIRING: **Original character (Noelle Parker) & Tim Riggins

**RATED: **T for teenage pregnancy, language, etc., at the moment.

**INTRODUCTION: **LIVING THE IMPOSSIBLE

"This _can't_ be happening," she mumbled, slipping down to the cool tiles of her bathroom floor with the pregnancy test still in hand. The pink plus sign glared back at her, and though she had the urge to write it off as a false positive, odds were that on the fourth test, something was probably up. In layman's terms, the directions on each test had spelled out what a pink plus sign meant, as if any idiot couldn't guess – pregnant. The signs had all been there – nausea, back pain, fatigue. All the textbook symptoms. But those signs, on their own, were easy enough to write off as anything else but what they really were. She'd been dealing with denial for a good stretch of time, but there was only so much she could do to deny it then. Four plastic sticks lined up neatly on the counter were pretty damning evidence as far as her hope to keep breezing over the truth.

But the story didn't begin in that bedroom or even at that party truthfully, and it would have hardly made sense to leave out the rest. 'She' was Noelle Parker, the girl who'd been the shiny new student a mere month or so before that night, the new transfer from a town a few cities over. She'd moved there with her mother and the man her mother had attached herself to most recently, assimilating herself as best she could into the Panther's student body. It hadn't worked well so far, however; Noelle hated football and despised the zealousness the whole lunatic town went at it with. So much ado for kicking around a pigskin ball, and such little importance on academics and the like. It was hick town idiocy at its finest.

It was that same bad attitude towards the sport that had made that night her first Panther party, and from the moment she'd stepped in the door, she vowed it would be her last. There was no reason for her to join in those sorts of things, and after being seen leaving a bedroom that housed a passed out fullback, she was sure she'd have an interesting reputation when she showed her face around the halls, let alone at a party. Until shortly after, she wasn't exactly filled in on the fact that each and every single girl who would put out for Tim Riggins had been there and done that, most with stories much more memorable than hers. For a while, it seemed as though nothing about her reputation would change, at all

The party hadn't been interesting in the slightest, just a run of the mill celebration in honor of a big win for the Panther's, and the first she'd attended. From there, she could hardly say how she ended up in bed with one of the numbskulled football players, or rather _the _idiot football player, but it had happened. She was sure he could barely remember any of it, but she definitely could. She'd been more sober than he could've hoped to be, that night.

It had been all hands, lips, and drunkenness combining in a never ending grope fest that mildly failed to live up to the reputation of Timothy Riggins' sexual prowess. She supposed that wasn't really his fault; with how inebriated he'd been at the time, it had to have been a struggle to stay conscious, let alone move with grace between the sheets. It was also not as though she had much experience as to what to compare the ordeal to, not having shacked up with many drunken football players in back bedrooms of Dillon Panther party houses, at least before coming to the small town.

And there she was, a little over two months later, after receiving nothing so much as a phone call from Tim, sitting in her bathroom with tears streaming down her face. Her life as she knew it was most definitely over, no matter what she did at that point, though she couldn't even bring herself to consider anything more than that moment. Even thinking ahead to the next second made her chest go tight, locking up her airways. She was seventeen, for God's sake. Seventeen, and a junior in high school, who'd made one stupid mistake that probably a million girls before her had made with the same guy.

She had to imagine she wasn't the only one who'd paid some sort of penance, but at the moment, she couldn't have felt more alone.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Okay, guys, so there's the first chapter! I'm hoping you dig it, because I've got a very clear idea where I want it to go, and I'd love for you all to be there to see it, for sure.


	2. I CAN'T DENY

**TITLE: **Never A Clean Break**  
PAIRING: **Original character (Noelle Parker) & Tim Riggins**  
RATED: **T for teenage pregnancy, language, etc., at the moment.

**CHAPTER ONE: **I CAN'T DENY

The difference between thinking something and knowing it without a doubt was that whatever you knew with concrete certainty, became absolutely and terrifyingly real.

In Elle's world, the difference between trusting an at home pregnancy test and getting the lab work done for sure was a drive outside of Dillon, to Austin, where a girl could visit a clinic and not have the entire town sending her bouquets of congratulations by sundown. The only person she wanted to know was Jane Royce, the girl she'd befriended quick and steadfast in English class. Practically the first day the two hit it off, they became best friends, like some sort of throwback to the magic of elementary school, when kindling friendships wasn't so difficult. Thus far, she was Elle's best friend, and the only person who knew she was baking anything in her oven. Consequently, she was also the one accompanying her to the Greater Austin Woman's Pavilion, otherwise known as the woman's health clinic.

"And you're _sure _it's his?" Jane hissed quietly, leaning over to whisper close to her friend's ear as they sat in the waiting room. Elle shot her a look.

"How many Panthers do you think I've slept with?" she shot back, a little put off by the notion. She was completely positive as to who she'd slept with, not having been drunk or loose enough to have just gone after anyone. No, she'd always carried a small flame for Tim, just like every other girl with a pulse. And when the opportunity arose… well, to state the obvious, she'd leapt at it.

"Have you told him yet? I mean, he's gonna want to know, isn't he?" Jane asked, as though that were the most obvious, simple task in the universe, telling a star athlete you'd slept with once and spoken to probably half a time that you were ruining his life with a baby. She didn't have to know Tim to make an educated guess that he wasn't father material, and she didn't have to think twice to guess how important she was to him. It was just one night, another one of his umpteenth numbers of sexual conquests. It really hadn't been a big deal on either party's side. Until the pregnancy test showed up positive.

"Maybe I should just… You know," Elle trailed off, biting her lip. 'You know' referred to fixing the situation without Tim's involvement, and from the wildly shocked look in Jane's eyes, she realized that, too.

"You can't do that, chica," she insisted, her voice rising a little sharply and attracting the attention of several women in the waiting room. She rolled her eyes at them and dropped her voice down to a more conspiratorial level. "Well, I mean, you can do _that_, but you can't do it without telling him. He ought to at least know about it, Elle," she explained, a little more gently than her first try.

Elle groaned and dropped her head back on the chair. He did need to know, even if she didn't think he'd care. He'd probably be for her idea of fixing it, but it seemed a fair enough assessment that he should be informed, one way or another. But how could she tell him? Dillon was a small town, and telling him meant telling the world, which meant accepting whatever backlash came with her decision, for both of them. He was a football star, anyway, someone who couldn't afford any more negative press than he lent himself. Luckily, she had no more time to think about it than she did, the nurse informing them that it was time for the doctor to see her, just then.

- - -

The process was simple, and not nearly as magical as she was led to believe it would be. It was too early to hear the baby's heartbeat, and really, the only outcome of the visit was a piece of paper decrying that Noelle Elisabeth Parker was officially and undeniably two and a half months pregnant. It had all be clinical and cold, but she couldn't really say she expected anything less – she was a seventeen year old unwed girl who'd brought her best friend along for the appointment, not a well adjusted newlywed whose husband had attended. She knew how it looked, though in many ways, she couldn't be bothered to care. The only thing she cared about was making a decision, and informing Tim of it.

She didn't want to have the baby for reasons that sounded shallow and unplanned. It would tarnish Tim's reputation, probably keep him out of playing college ball. It would make her into the whore of Dillon, overnight. Her mother would have a heart attack. Tim's parents… well, she had no idea who they were or what they were like, but she was sure no parent would exit the situation happily. She didn't want to end up raising the child alone, depending on the good old state of Texas and her mother to fund the endeavor, and she knew Tim wouldn't have anything to do with it. She just knew it.

She didn't want to have an abortion because she'd never really believed in that kind of thing. It was her mistake and she didn't feel like relying on anyone else to clean it up, the same logic that had applied to not keeping the baby, as well. Punishing herself and everyone else involved, or punishing the baby, seemed to be her only options. Aside from adoption, which involved becoming the whore of Dillon and most of the same steps as operation Unexpected Parenthood, also known as having and keeping the child. To give the baby away meant ballooning out and becoming obviously pregnant, something that would definitely attract attention given her age and the small town mentality of the place.

"The only thing you can do right now is go tell Tim, then you guys can figure out what you want to do," Jane mentioned, eyes on the road as they drove back towards Dillon, the sun having set a few moments prior. Again, Elle simply banged her head against the headrest and sighed in defeat, acknowledging that her friend was indeed correct. Crossing her arms, she stared out the window as the scenery rushed by.

"Fine," Elle mumbled reluctantly, "Tomorrow, I tell him."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Well, here comes trouble! Heh. I really hope you guys are digging this, because I'm jazzed to get the story out, for sure!


End file.
